


Stranded

by kneesdeepinsaturn



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23355850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kneesdeepinsaturn/pseuds/kneesdeepinsaturn
Summary: After Sarah and the Doctor find a mysterious boy in the middle of a deserted planet, they try to track down the source of his becoming and how he ended up there.
Relationships: Fourth Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith, The Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

They found him with out any clothes on.

Well, he had trousers, of course.

His hair was a erratic mess, a strand or two poked out through his ears like some sort of antenna. It was funny, but Sarah wasn’t laughing.

The poor boy had scuffs and bruises lining his arms and legs, and it looked as if he had just fallen off a cliff. Yet, there were no cliffs in sight. In fact, there was nearly nothing in sight. Just plain, flat, grassland. The Doctor found this peculiar.

It took Sarah a second to finally indulge the boy into speaking.

“Hello,” she starts off gentle, almost mother like. The Doctor notices. “Are you lost?”

The boy, not moving nor speaking, simply stares ahead, fascinated by the light leaking out from inside the TARDIS.

“Are you hurt?” Sarah edges him on, until finally the boy shakes his head no.

“It’s okay if you are, we can help you.” She turns around and gestures towards the Doctor. “He’s a doctor,” the boy tilts his head. “He can make you feel better.”

With the soothing inflection of Sarah’s voice, the boy decides to muster up enough courage to take a step forward. His feet were scraped and very dirty, grime and mud lined in every fold of skin he had. The poor boy almost blended in with the darkness of the night around them.

Sarah motions a hand out and the boy flinches slightly, until he too stretches his small little fingers out for Sarah to graze over lightly. As he takes another step, the Doctor notices a limp, and warns Sarah to be careful of his injuries.

“There you go, you’re alright.”

The height of stance of the Doctor puts the boy on edge for a second, until he’s found himself being pulled up and weighed onto Sarah’s arms. She carefully wipes away bits of dried blood and dirt the best she can from his face, and looks towards the Doctor for answers.

“Bring him in,” he starts, his scarf trailing behind. “I’ve got a med kit in the TARDIS. He seems fascinated by it, anyhow.”

Slowly, Sarah follows behind him, and the boy does nothing but slightly whimper at the pain in his leg. Sarah reassures him that he’s going to be alright, setting him down on a cot the Doctor had pulled out for him.

As the Doctor searches for a med kit, Sarah attempts to comfort the boy.

“How do you think he got out there?” She asks quietly, as if not to startle the boy with the echo the TARDIS would give. The Doctor shrugs, unwinding some bandaging.

“I’m not sure. He could be from anywhere. He could have been left, or accidentally stranded.”

Sarah’s face screws into confusion.

“Who would leave a little boy out in conditions like that?”

“Anyone. We don’t know who he is, or what he’s done,” he hands Sarah a wipe.

“We could be making a mistake right now.”

“He’s a child.” Sarah snaps.

“He’s a stranger.”

Shaking her head, Sarah carefully wipes down the boys face, several layers of dirt showing his damaged, red skin. She does this over his neck, arms, and to the best of her ability; his injured legs. He doesn’t cry once.

In fact, he’s shown almost no emotion since they found him.

“I think he’s in shock.” Sarah remarks, brushing his hair out of his eyes. They were very pretty, almost reflectant of the bright lights in the TARDIS.

“Wouldn’t surprise me, we don’t know what he’s been through.”

Strutting over, the Doctor crouches next to Sarah, looking up into the boys eyes. They’re dull, almost lifeless.

“What’s your name?” He says, trying to mimic Sarah’s tone of voice from before. “Do you have a name?”

The Doctor expects the silence that followed.

With a sigh, he tosses the bandaging between his hands before Sarah takes it from him, and starts to wraps it around the boys visible injuries, including his leg. Finishing, she rubs his slightly cleaner arms down, before realizing he was still in his underwear.

She looks towards the Doctor, then back at the boy.

“Lets get you dressed, yeah?”


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor had nothing that would fit a child in the TARDIS.

As a makeshift garment, Sarah takes off the jacket she was wearing from earlier. It was the closest thing they had to nearly fitting him, since she was tons smaller than the Doctor.

Sarah had to teach the mystery child how to put the jacket on, which was a bit disheartening, seeing as how he looked old enough to put clothes on by himself. She guides his weak and fragile arms through the sleeves, buttons it up for him, and pulls it down to where it barely reaches his knees. At least it was large enough to cover a third of him.

Noticing him getting tired, and expecting it eventually, Sarah lets the boy lay in her lap, twirling strands of his greasy hair between her fingers gently.

“I still don’t understand,” Sarah begins, her voice in a hush. “Isn’t this planet supposed to be abandoned?”

The Doctor nods, flicking a lever. A screen appears on the wall, showing a map. A tiny red dot not far from the TARDIS begins to flash brightly and fast.

“Indeed. But apparently, it’s not.” The Doctor says, curiosity in his voice. He had been thinking through this entire situation. The planet they had landed on, C6-Sector 07 was supposed to be abandoned, which is why it wasn’t given a proper name in the first place. He and Sarah had only landed here to dispose of some things from a previous trip, since this planet was considered the galaxies dump anyway.

The Doctor rubs his bottom lip in confusion. “Interesting.”

“What?”

He points to the screen, gaining Sarah’s attention.

“It says there’s a little village, not far from here.”

Excited and wanting answers, Sarah shifts a bit, careful not to wake the small figure in her lap. He was shaking in his sleep.

“Well, come on then!”

The Doctor sighs. “Sarah, we can’t just-”

She interrupts him, irritation in her voice.

“I have a weak and injured child laying in my lap right now. I do not have time for you to play guessing games on whether or not he’s some sort of set up.”

Sarah does nothing but stare, continuing to stroke the boys hair. The Timelord puts his hands up in defense, putting in the coordinates and pulling down on a lever, which sends the whirring sounds of the TARDIS filling their ears. 

When it stops, there’s an awkward silence.

Sarah slowly lifts the child up into her arms, noticing that he’s gained a bit of strength after she feels him wrap his arms around her neck. Flashing one of looks at the Doctor, he opens the TARDIS doors, and follows behind Sarah she she makes her way out.

They had landed in an alleyway.


	3. Chapter 3

“Do you suppose they sell children’s clothes?”

“Is that seriously what your priority is?”

Sarah jabs the Doctor in the side to the best of her ability, shivering as a rush of cold air suddenly hits the both of them. The boy in Sarah’s arms trembles, and she tries to push him against her for more body warmth the best she could.

“Right, then. Stay behind me, and let me do all the talking.” 

With an obedient nod, and just wanting to find the boy some shelter, Sarah follows behind the Doctor closely as they make their way out of the alley.

Coming up onto a street, the Doctor looks around. The shops and stands were open, but it seemed as if no one was out, which wasn’t surprising as it was night. He quickly ducks back, carefully pushing Sarah and the boy against the alleyway wall as a small crowd walks by.

“Doctor, we need help.” Sarah reminds him.

“We won’t be getting any from them.”

Curious, Sarah peers over him, looking as the crowd that seemed so real suddenly fades away into ash and dust. Sarah’s eyes widen, pressing the boy closer to her out of habit. 

“What are they?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Well, they look human enough.”

“So does he.” The Doctor points out.

Sarah rolls her eyes and moves her jacket to further cover the boys face from the cold. 

“Right. Now come on.”

They step into the street, the Doctors feet crunching the upturned asphalt. He struts over carefully to where the crowd had evaporated, piling a bit of the dust onto his finger. He smells it.

“Garbage.”

Confused, Sarah stands over him, pushing some of the dust away with her shoe.

“Garbage?” She looks around. “You mean to tell me these people are made of rubbish?” 

“For the most part..” He trails off, looking at several other piles of ash. “But why are they disintegrating?”

“Look, can we worry about that later? I don’t know how much longer he’s going to last.”

The Doctor stands up right, looking the boy over with a scrunched face. He notices Sarah doesn’t have a coat. “You either.”

“I’m not worried about me.”

“I’m worried about you.”

In the midst of their babble, a figure appears behind them both, startling Sarah as she goes to turn around. Her arms tighten further, looking at the very short, old man standing in front of her.

“Hello.” the Doctor coos out with a smile. Sarah glances at him for comfort.

“I’m the Inn owner here,” the old man says, his wrinkly hands shaking the cane that was keeping him up. He had a very white mustache with a bobble hat to match. He looked very friendly, but Sarah remembered to keep her whits about her.

“Please follow me for shelter.” With a smile, the man turns around and begins to walk, and it takes a few looks at each other for Sarah and the Doctor to follow.


	4. Chapter 4

The Inn smelled pleasantly nice, considering the planet they were on was a dump.

It’s scent reminded Sarah of the Christmas parties she used to have back on Earth, around the time when she did actually get to visit Earth. Sarah did find it a little odd, however, that the soft smell of cinnamon was filling her nose.

They could both start to feel warmth flooding into their hands and feet again, the boy especially. Sarah noticed that he had stopped shaking, but somehow remained asleep. She didn’t blame him.

The old man hobbled inside, his cane mute against a beautiful carpet splayed out in front of them. Everything looked quite cabin like, considering it’s size.

The Doctor unravels his scarf and bunches it up next to him before another gentlemen, one much younger than the Inn keeper, graciously takes it from him. He does this with his coat as well, and goes back into a little room to presumably hang the garments up. 

The Doctor noticed him eyeing the boy.

Sarah’s arms began to tire now, partly from carrying the child everywhere, and partly because they were half frozen stiff. She looks towards the Doctor with pleading eyes and he quickly rushes up to the counter where the old man had retreated back to.

“Excuse me-” the Doctor smiles again.

“Your room will be 296. Don’t let me keep you waiting.” The Inn keeper dangles the key out in front of him, and the Doctor takes it thankfully, nodding in gratitude. 

Doing Sarah a favor, he scoops the boy from her arms, carrying him the rest of the way until they reach their room.

“Doctor, I don’t like the feeling of this.” 

“Just trust me.” His feet are quick up each step. “Don’t you trust me?” He quickly adds. 

With silent confirmation, Sarah takes the key from the Doctor. Having finally reached their room, she pushes the door open to a warm fireplace that was already lit. Sarah gets chills.

The Doctor steps inside and swiftly drags one of the chairs towards the fireplace, setting the boy down gently into the seat. Sarah shuts the door behind them, and locks it.

“Do you think the Inn keepers one of them?”

The Doctor shakes his head.

“I doubt it. He would have disintegrated by now.”

Sarah rubs her arms and begins to rummage through a near by dresser, looking for another coat. Coincidentally, she finds one, a beige parka with a fur hood. It fits perfectly.

“I don’t think any of this was by chance.” 

“Hm?” Sarah hums in question, turning around as soon as she finishes buttoning up her covering.

She finds the Doctor holding up a folded sheet of paper, the words ‘TIMELORD’ written in messy handwriting. “Someone’s expecting us.”

Sarah pleads in her head that this wasn’t a set up.


	5. Chapter 5

A threatening knock at the door makes Sarah jump.

The boy in the seat shifts uncomfortably, his eyes fluttering open as he sits up slowly. Sarah’s coat starts to feel too hot for him, so he starts to unbutton it. The Doctor quickly catches him, pulling the jacket closed again as he looks up to Sarah.

‘Get him’ the Doctor mouths, and Sarah silently yet swiftly struts over to pick him up. He points towards the bathroom door, and Sarah, with the boy in tow, quickly parades into the room and shuts the door, locking it.

The Doctor looks towards their bedroom door as another loud knock erupts. 

He calmly walks over, hands in pockets to seem more natural. He unlocks the door, and pulls it open slowly, peering into the crack to see who was out there first.

It was the younger gentlemen from downstairs. 

Realizing this, the Doctor pulls the door open all the way, the hinges giving an uncomfortable squeak that he didn’t hear before. 

“Hello.” The Doctor greets.

“The kitchen has just finished the guests dinner,” he begins, his hands timidly placed under a towel. It was tinted grey, and the smell was hard to ignore. “We are expecting you down soon.”

Nodding, the Doctor thanks the gentlemen for the information. “Thank you. We’ll be down soon.”

The Doctor attempts to shield the rest of the room with his figure, but it’s futile, and the oncoming question pursues. 

“Where is your company?”

Looking behind him to the empty room, he glances at the bathroom door.

“Freshening up. We’ll be down in a jiffy.” He reassures the gentlemen, and goes to shut the door quickly before any more interruptions could happen.

Locking the door back, the Doctor rushes over to the bathroom door, knocking on it softly before it swings open.

“Who was that?” Sarah questions, a now fully dressed child propped in her arms. The Doctor looks him over before answering. “The coat clerk from downstairs,” he points to the boy. “Where he get those from?”

Sarah spins around, gesturing towards the cupboard next to the sink.

“Ah, of course.”

Setting the boy down, Sarah walks with him the rest of the way out of the bathroom.

“What did he want?”

The Doctor fiddles with the piece of paper from before. “He came to tell us that dinner was done.”

Excited, the boy perks up at the thought, tugging gently on Sarah’s coat sleeve.

“Oh, it’s about time.” She glances down at the motioning. “He’s probably starving, poor thing.”

“Yes,” the Doctor stuffs the paper into his pocket and walks towards the door, opening it slightly to look out. “Come on, then ”


	6. Chapter 6

The Inn’s dinning hall was marvelous, Sarah thought.

It was lined with several candle holders and paintings, a room so subdued by light that one look down the long, shiny, oak wood table would force anyones eyes to squint in response.

It was a bit cooler down here, which is partly the reason why Sarah kept her coat on and the boy close to her. She followed behind the Doctor, who was following behind the coat clerk from earlier. It seemed he and the Inn keeper where the only two men at this establishment. 

The Doctor still couldn’t shake what he saw earlier, the cloth wrapped around the coat clerks hand. He was disintegrating, the Doctor knew, by why? And why was it happening so slowly?

“Here are your seats.” The coat clerk beckons them forward, and begins to pull out the chair for Sarah. She nods hesitantly, but keeps her manners as she thanks him and sits down. To keep a better eye on the boy, she pulls him up into her lap, letting him gaze over the reflection the candles gave onto the polished dinning table. The Doctor takes the seat across from her.

There’s an eerie silence as they both watch the clerk leave towards the kitchen.

“Doctor, his hand-”

“I know.”

It takes a second for Sarah to realize the smell again. Cinnamon, as before.

“What ever they’re cooking, it sure does smell good.” Sarah chimes, fixing the boys collar that had managed to become upturned. The Doctor flashes her a look, rubbing down his chin.

“It isn’t food.” He says grimly, and quickly looks around at his surroundings. Much like Sarah’s thoughts, the hall was quite big, and lusciously decorated. It would take whoever was inside a moment to figure out where each door led to. The Doctor just didn’t understand why an Inn this big would be needed for such a small town…

“Here you are.” The coat clerk comes back in, a silver platter with a lid stuck on top is slid their way. The boy, clearly eager to eat, nearly falls out of Sarah’s lap trying to reach for the shiny metal.

Before Sarah could let him, the Doctor speaks up.

“Actually,” he says loud enough for Sarah to catch on. She quickly grabs the boys hands back, who is clearly unhappy about the situation. “We already ate before we came.” He flashes the coat clerk a smile, but doesn’t receive one back.

“Oh, yes, quite,” Sarah says as well, trying to play into the rouse. Her stomach hurt. “Stuffed like a Christmas pig.”

Unfazed by the excuses, the coat clerk removes the lid anyway, showing a volume of pink carnations. Confused, Sarah looks towards the Doctor, who’s already started to stand up.

“Run!”


	7. Chapter 7

“I don’t understand,” Sarah starts, out of breath. The Doctor attempts to shush her.

“I don’t understand,” She says again, more quiet. She tries to shift into a more comfortable position, trying not to crush the tiny legs in front of her. “Carnations?”

“Not just carnations, pink carnations.” The Doctor slides down the wall onto his bottom. “They symbolize remembrance for the deceased.”

Surprised, Sarah attempts to draw the conversation away from the oncoming topic.

“You mean he was going to..”

“Yes. Eventually.”

“But why?”

The Doctor peaks out from behind the door to the closet they had taken shelter in. “I have a theory.”

“I would love to hear it right about now.”

Sighing, the Doctor turns back to Sarah, and says nothing, pointing at the boy. The child, confused and scared, looks back at him, fear in his eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. We’re still on this?”

The Doctor pulls his knees up to his chest. “I never left it,” he starts. “The coat clerk has been eyeing him since we got here. He’s the only one who’s shown no effect to whatever has been happening.” 

Sarah rolls her eyes. “Is he dangerous?” 

Shaking his head, The Doctor peeks through again.

“No. He’s what caused all of this. They exiled him, and for good reason.”

Visibly confused, Sarah begins to go ask another question, but the Doctor quickly covers her mouth as foot steps are heard approaching their door.

They’re slow, and the pattern of them suggests that whoever owned them must not be in a big hurry to find them. Then the Doctor remembered: the Inn keeper.

“Stay here,” The Doctor demands in a hushed voice. Sarah, visibly annoyed, leans over to ask why. The Doctor aggressively shakes his head. “Stay. Here.”

Doing so, he leaves the closet door, shutting it quickly behind him as he is met with the Inn keeper.

“Hello again.” The Doctor stays, a smile on his face. This time, he does receive one back. 

“I do beg your pardon,” the old man starts, his cane wobbling in front of him. “Lawrence can be a bit hasty with guests now and again.”

The Doctor, a smile still on his face, holds in hands up in defense. “Oh, no worries! We expected as much.” He slides his hand into his pocket to retrieve the sheet of paper he found back in their room, holding it out.

“Did you write this for me?” 

The Inn keeper hobbles closer to inspect the handwriting, before smiling. 

“Yes, I did.” He admits, and the Doctor hums out an ‘ah.’ 

“Could you tell me why you led us here, hm?”

Waving his finger, the Inn keeper shakes his head, which leaves the Doctor with his head tilted. “All will be explained in time.”

He reaches his hand out to touch the Doctors, and if by magic, they both dissolve into nothing but ash and dust.


	8. Chapter 8

“Doctor?”

Sarah’s faint voice spilled through the crack of the closet as she opened it, looking around cautiously. She pulls herself out slowly, then the boy next, stopping as her feet suddenly rise in amplitude.

Looking down, she lets out a loud gasp, pushing the boy behind her.

“Doctor?” She calls out again softer, leaning down to brush her fingers through the ash. She notices the second pile as well, and tries to imagine that the coat clerk and the Inn keeper had vanished. Not the Doctor.

With this in mind, Sarah grabs hold of the child’s hand and begins to walk down the corridor, stopping when she hears foot steps similar to her own. She pushes herself against the wall, firmly holding the boy close to her as she see’s someone who she had hoped turned to dust walk down the hallway. 

The boy suddenly wriggles free from Sarah’s grip, half limping and half running towards the coat clerk. Visibly shocked and with her heart racing, Sarah calls out for him. “Hey!”

As if by instinct and not by choice, she follows after him, a hint of loneliness and fear in her heart.

**

The Doctor comes to, his throat dry.

He pulls the collar of his shirt away from his neck in an attempt to lighten the pressure on his throat, looking around haphazardly. He was in some sort of metal room, it looked, but it wasn’t any sort of metal he’d seen before.

Before he could assume, lights flash on around him, and the interior of the TARDIS fills his view. Confused but curious, he stands up, dust and ash falling off his now grey tinted clothing.

“Oh, you’re awake!”

His head turns towards a young looking woman wearing an all white suit, a shiny belt wrapped around her waist. She looked quite modern, her heels tapping against the TARDIS floor as she came closer.

“How did you get into my TARDIS?”

The woman shakes her head and smiles, the clip board in her hand moving with her body movements. 

“This isn’t the real TARDIS,” she starts, snapping as the interior of the room dissolves, showing the real room behind it. The walls were blue and metallic. “We program this room to take form of a room the host would be most comfortable waking up in, as to not disturb them when they do.”

“Clever.” The Doctor remarks back, wringing his neck of any further pain. He then notices the lack of people in the room, and looks towards the woman with a questioned expression.

“Where’s Sarah?”

The woman begins to write something down, not making eye contact with the Doctor as she walks over to the end of the room. A panel appears through the wall.

“She wasn’t allowed to come, unfortunately. Not with the boy.”

The Doctors mouth contorts into an ‘oh’ shape. He knew it. “So he does have something to do with this?”

“It’ll all be explained in due time, Doctor.” He watches as she presses a button, and smoke gently starts to fill the room. “Now rest.”

“Now wait just a mo-”

Before he could finish any thoughts, the Timelord was out like a light.


End file.
